Turmeric Chicken No Noodle Soup

An anti-inflammatory veggie-packed chicken soup that will leave you saying, “what noodles?” Whip this up on the weekend for quick and cozy meals throughout the week.

Shall we call this turmeric chicken week? After Tuesday’s recipe for Avocado Turmeric Chicken Salad and now another turmeric chicken-based dish, I think we shall!

Since my Instant Pot made its arrival and I learned how to cook chicken crazily fast in it, it probably comes as no surprise that the chicken recipes just keep on coming. But turmeric? That one may not be such an obvious ingredient. Ormaybeitis? <– Five of my favorite turmeric recipes all crammed into one sentence.

You see, turmeric is straight up amazing. It is anti-inflammatory. It is colorful and makes dishes vibrantly pretty. And it packs a major punch in the flavor department.

I may not be able to eat curry powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika right now, but ground turmeric is treating me just fine. It is also calming all of my cravings for all of those darn nightshade spices.

Since adopting a Paleo (mostly AIP) diet, I can no longer enjoy my “No Chicken” Noodle Chickpea Soup (this is a must try if you eat vegan, gluten, and legumes). I am lucky to have found a great substitution, but sometimes you just want some chicken soup… for the soul (sorry, I had to say it).

I like to think that this Turmeric Chicken No Noodle Soup is what would happen if those two soups had a baby and then… bam! You just had to throw in some turmeric. Props to this lady for giving me the idea.

1. Cook chicken breasts and four cups of the chicken bone broth in the Instant Pot using this method, or your preferred method. Remove the chicken breasts from the broth. Set aside to cool, shred, then store in the fridge if you are not making the soup right away. Reserve the remaining bone broth for the soup. You can also use shredded chicken from a whole chicken.

2. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, lower the heat to medium and add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook for approximately five to six minutes, or until softened.

3. Add carrots, celery, and cabbage. Stir and cook for an additional six to eight minutes.

4. Stir in zucchini, remaining two cups of bone broth, and the four cups of bone broth used to cook the chicken. You may need to strain the broth used to cook the chicken.

5. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Add spices, lemon juice, and shredded cooked chicken, cover, and continue simmering for an additional 20 to 30 minutes. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes!

Per usual, please serve this soup with plantain chips or sweet potato chips. Crackers = not a necessity. <– though not gonna lie, I’d love an AIP cracker right about now. The addition of diced avocado is also super fab, if I do say so myself.

Turmeric seems like an obvious ingredient to me :) It's one of thos spices that I chuck into all kinds of thrown-together meals for added nutrition and I love how everything comes out with that distinctive golden hue!
Sorry to hear that you can't enjoy lots of other herbs or spices at the moment, but glad you're enjoying this anti-inflammatory superfood in delicious recipes like this chicken soup!
Ally @OmNomAlly recently posted...Homemade Restless Leg Spray + How To Make Magnesium Oil

Turmeric is so healthy. I remember when I was a kid, my friend did a science project with it in school--she actually got had all these pictures of petri dishes and the cancer cells diminishing in response to the turmeric. So cool!
Also love the idea of doing a chicken soup and just leaving out the noodles--I, too, have to deal with food intolerances.
Joyce recently posted...Re-Introducing Onion & Garlic

This looks so good that I am planning on making this tonight! One suggestion I have is that you add black pepper to this recipe. In order for your body to receive all the benefits from turmeric, you need to have it with black pepper. The piperine in black pepper improves curcurmin (component in turmeric that is anti inflammatory) bio-availability by 2000%! So don't skip this part!!
Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for that recommendation. I did not realize that! I think at the time I made this recipe I was following a pretty strict AIP Paleo diet, which prohibits black pepper. But I'll have to keep that in mind moving forward. I hope you love it!

I have read that as well, but excluded it in this recipe because it is technically not considered AIP. While it is not a nightshade, it is a berry/fruit that is recommended to be excluded initially. It can, however, be reintroduced if it does not negatively affect you. Here is a bit more info:
https://www.thepaleomom.com/spices-on-autoimmune-protocol/
I hope this helps!

As someone who is starting the daunting process of figuring out exactly what my body is telling me it needs and wants for healthier body function, this soup sounds the perfect way to start. I know my body is intolerant to certain foods but my doctor and allergist do not believe me. I'll figure this out myself with the help of recipes like this one. I'm making it right now as I type. Thank you ??

I hope you enjoy the soup, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey! If you are able to, you might try finding a functional medicine practitioner in your area that can assist you. It can be overwhelming going at it on your own!

Hi, I'm going to try this tomorrow since I have all the ingredients. I love the idea of adding lemon juice. How much do you add, generally? I realize it will probably be to an individual's taste. I'm just looking for a ballpark... maybe juice of 1 lemon?
Thanks!

I LOVE THIS SOUP! I've been trying to find good healthy soup that doesn't contain a lot of carbs. This is the perfect comfort food. I used a rotisserie chicken from whole foods (cheated) and my house smelled amazing when it was cooking. THANK YOU!

I've made this soup twice now and I LOVE it. I also think it would be a great soup to have post-partum. I'm wondering how it freezes? Would some of the veggies get kind of mushy? Any thoughts on how to freeze it well?